
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga declared the protest at a regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry of Vietnam in
She told to the media that at 6am on June 9, a Chinese fishing boat code-named 62226, supported by two Chinese fishery administration vessels code-named 311 and 303, intentionally hit the survey cables of Viking II, ( this ship was hired by the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group), when it was conducting seismic surveys at Lot 136/03 at a location 6 degrees 47’5” north latitude and 109 degrees 17’5” east longitude on Vietnam’s continental shelf.
The Chinese fishing boat 62226 trailed a cable-cutting device into the vicinity of ship Viking II and became trapped in the network of underwater cables in use by the Vietnamese vessel, though the Vietnamese ship had signaled a warning flare. Because of the attack, ship Viking II could not operate normally.
Then, the two Chinese fishing boats took part in the rescue mission of fishing boat 62226.
The incident took place just two weeks after a Chinese marine surveillance vessel on May 26 cut the exploration cables of ship Binh Minh 02 at Lot 148 in
The seismic survey area being studied by ship Viking II is well within
"The act by those fishing boats and fishery administration vessels of
She added, “It seriously violates Vietnam’s sovereignty and jurisdictional rights, against the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and goes counter to the common perception of senior leaders of the two countries on maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, and causing huge economic losses for the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group.”
“
“The Vietnamese side vigorously opposes
Later the same day, a Vietnam Foreign Ministry representative met with a representative from the Chinese Embassy in